Hello, after attending the course held by Luigi Borgato "Piano construction and its regulation" and discovering this magnificent forum, in addition to Maestro Ferrarelli's videos, I have started studying my piano (Yamaha C3) and discovering everything that could be optimized for better performance. I would like to tell you a bit about what I am doing, so you can tell me if I am heading in the right direction. So, from one analysis I discovered that the distance between hammer and string exceeded 50 mm (the Yamaha specifications, as dictated by Maestro Ferrarelli, speak of 47.5 mm...). I should mention that about fifteen years ago I had the hammers "combed" by a very skilled Steinway technician, and very recently my tuner performed a shaving (of which I am not entirely convinced, given the difference in timbre that I now notice in various notes...). I notice a lot of friction especially in the repetitions, particularly in the bass, and it seems to me that the felts in the key center are very "crushed," giving rise to a small lateral play that makes the keys move slightly sideways (especially in the central region of the keyboard). Among other things, by lightly pressing the part of the repetitions that are in contact with the pushers, I notice that the "yellow" region lifts from the "white" one and I don't know if this is normal. In light of all this, I began to bring the strings closer to the hammers by adjusting the relevant guides. Subsequently, by slowly pressing the keys until the escapement click, I noticed that some (many) hammers either did not reach the string, producing no sound at all, or stopped it. So I tried to adjust everything by acting on the escapement regulation button and everything was fixed. Now I can play repeated notes that hadn't been heard for a long time. The next step would be to regulate the hammer distance as soon as the escapement has "clicked" (if I am not mistaken, this is the let-off distance...). To perform this adjustment, I was thinking of acting on the let-off regulation screw located on the hammer shank: is this correct? Sorry for the amount of data I have thrown at you, I hope I haven't been tedious... If anyone has any suggestions, I would be happy to hear them... Thank you! Massimo
Everything is correct regarding your procedure, but keep in mind that shaving the hammers, besides shifting the striking point, modifies the "mechanics geometry". That is, you will perhaps have less energy on the forte (the inner part of the escapement lever is no longer aligned with the inner wooden part of the roller!). Also check the key dip of the white keys, which should be about 10 mm. The fact that the hammers do not "escape" after adjusting the hammer-string distance leads me to believe that the key dip is not correct. You can act sparingly, if necessary, on the keyboard frame supports. Also move this frame slightly inward until you feel the last keys sound well. Let's say this is a practical way to find the correct striking point. Anyway, mark the original position with a mark on the board. Then take the right block, loosen the side screws, and insert it without moving the frame. The lateral limiter will move to the new position. Tighten the screws and reassemble everything. When you replace the hammer rail (which is more appropriate), you will move the keyboard frame back to the position of the mark you made. Good luck with your work
Thank you Maestro, I knew I could count on your extremely precious advice... In the event that the dip is not 10 mm, precisely where should I intervene to adjust it? Ah, tomorrow I would like to go to the FTP to purchase some useful things. Regarding the friction of the pivot and under the key, which product do you recommend? Looking closely, I fear that removing the keys is not so simple and I think I will be forced to intervene without disassembling them.
Obviously, regarding the question about where to intervene to adjust the depth of the white keys, I meant before intervening on the keyboard frame supports...
